Poetry Friday--The Nameless

Where did this week go? It totally got away from me without one single post. And now it's Friday again and time to share another amazing poem by another amazing sixth grader.
Ben's poem isn't even remotely related to school life, but his title, "The Nameless", makes me think about the classes of students we teach each day. Are there those students out there who are nameless? Those that we ignore simply because we don't know what to do to help them? Those that are so compliant that we pass over them because they're always "doing what we want"? Those that intentionally hide from us and scream inside, "Don't notice me!"?
I'm setting a goal for myself. No child deserves to be nameless, and it is my job to make sure all my students feel that they are a special part, a contributing member, a sixth grader with an important name and place in our classroom.

Now for Ben's incredible poem. I'm attaching his author's note, so you can see his thinking behind this poem. Enjoy!

Poetry Friday

Today's poem comes from one of my sixth grade students. Just this week Valerie shared a notebook full of poetry that she writes to express her feelings and cope with tough times in her life. She's a writer beyond the four walls of our classroom! Isn't that what we all hope for our students? This poem was written in honor of her mother, but it also inspired me to be a better teacher and to be that "guiding light" for my students. Thanks, Valerie.

"The Guiding Light"
--by Valerie F.

The light guides
It will not die
And that is what I want
Give me a new path
A new start
Help me grow
And keep me going
That is you
Your bright soul shines
A quick flash of light
Your heartwarming smile,
The sparkle in your beautiful eyes
A well creation
You move me away
from
The past
the darkness
To a new beginning
Full of life (and learning)
All around
The Guiding Light.

A Community that Cares

I'm not a fan of rewards and incentives for learning. No points for reading books. No treasure chest for "being good". No parties for being the "winner". It's my hope that I can foster a sense of "I can do it" or "I can make this happen" in the minds and hearts of my students and that they read voraciously, write with commitment to an audience, and take the initiative to learn because they're interested and intrinsically motivated.
I hate hate hate choosing one student over another for our school's Student of the Month award. I hate it because I saw the faces of the other 27 children when I announced our first homeroom "winner" at the beginning of the year. Why didn't all these students deserve the recognition of Student of the Month? Why couldn't I choose them all? Why did I have to choose one in the first place?
I love my school and my amazing administrators and am learning so much as a sixth grade teacher this year. And I've learned that it's okay to not always agree with those practices or ideas that have been put in place at school. I do have to submit my Student of the Month award nominee every month, but now my students make that decision each month. What I dreaded that early September morning is now an amazing experience to witness each month. I watch as my students nominate, negotiate, share positive and encouraging comments about their classmates, and then, as a class, they make the month's selection for THEIR Student of the Month. Each student in the class shares a positive note about the friend they chose for the recognition. It's watching them be honest, say smart things, write from their heart, and congratulate their classmate that makes me realize that I don't just teach and learn with a group of students. I teach and learn with a community of sixth graders who care about each other.
I'm off to school the teach and learn from this amazing community of caring, motivated, inspired, insightful, reflective, test weary sixth graders.
XOXO,
AM

Non-Negotiable Needs

During our morning meeting time at the beginning of the year, I asked my students this question--"What do you need from a teacher in order for you to learn best?" Below is the chart of what these sixth graders said that early September morning. It's March now, and I realize that no matter the time of day, the time of year, the kind of class, or the age of the student, I need to live out this list for my students. They deserve nothing less.
I'm off to school....to help my kids survive the morning's standardized testing and then (most importantly) to teach and learn from them.
XOXO,
AM

Choose The Best Answer

Lowry and Laminack and Literacy and Learning

Spring Break was great. I left the cold, rainy Alabama weather, and enjoyed a few days of sunshine in New York. One of the highlights of my trip was getting to spend time with Lois Lowry and Lester Laminack before Ms. Lowry's keynote at the Literacy and Learning Institute on Long Island. I spoke the next morning, and it was great sharing my thinking about writing and learning with such smart teachers. Thanks to friends (David Schultz and Denise Trainor) for inviting me to be a part of the conference. I always learn more about my profession and find myself re-thinking my teaching each time I present to groups of educators. And FYI Mr. Duncan--there ARE teachers out there who refuse to spend time "Racing to the Top" to boost test scores, but instead will spend entire weekends learning so that they can make school the best place it can be for each individual student.

Speaking of tests and Racing to the Top.....it's standardized test week(s) in Alabama. Tomorrow begins our two week high stakes testing "fun". I have two things to say about this:
1. " Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."--Albert Einstein

2. Hey Kid, Listen Up! (Everyone needs to read this Powerpoint from Marion Brady.)

I'm off to school to confer with my writers as they publish their very first fiction books of sixth grade and film their movie pitches for our "Make The World A Better Place 'Provokumentary' Project". (Note: This doesn't include filling in standardized bubble in answer documents.)
XOXO,
AM

What Are You Reading?

Today begins Spring Break for us, and that gives me some extra hours to catch up on reading. Please send your suggestions---adult novels and professional titles! (I'm taking a break from kid books this week!)
Thanks and TGIF!